Maria Venuti in hospital following a stroke

Entertainer and tireless charity worker Maria Venuti (above at last year's Wharf 4 Ward) has suffered a
stroke after being confronted by a stranger in her home yesterday. 

Maria was rushed to the Royal North Shore Hospital after falling ill. She had arrived home and after around twenty minutes Venuti found a stranger was in her living room. After calling police she was taken ill. Maria's daughter Bianca (pictured right with Maria) is by her bedside. Whispers will update as more news comes to hand.

Hello Sailor at the Wharf4Ward

Natalie Bassingthwaighte & hubby Cameron McGlinchey  plus Hamish & Andy or Ham for short                 

Kerri-Anne Kennerley channels her inner Big Bird in bright yellow while James Tobin waves

Ronan Keating with Storm Uechtritz plus X-Factor's Jai Waetford

 Sony Foundation's biggest annual fundraiser, Wharf4Ward, went off with an expected bang at Woolloomooloo Wharf and raised a whopping $880,000 for the Sony Foundation's national youth cancer program, You Can.

Held across all six top restaurants at the Finger Wharf in Woolloomool- Otto, Chinadoll, Kingsleys, Criniti's, Manta and AKI's — Wharf4Ward 2014 with a nautical theme proved to be a spectacular afternoon.
Sony Music artists joined personalities from TV networks Seven, Nine and Ten at what is shaping up to be the social event of the year - and there can't be anyone who has not been touched by cancer either via a friend or family member.

You Can is establishing specialised youth cancer centres around Australia for 16-25 year olds with cancer, who are currently falling through the gaps in our health care system.
Australia's first You Can Centre opened in Perth in May 2013, with a $1.8 million donation from Sony Foundation, and a second is currently under construction at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.

And top entertainment for the day included Human Nature and X-Factor winner Dami Im with the Royal Australian Navy Band.
And a fashion note - surely it's time Australian blokes dressed in pastel light suits and ditched those heavy black numbers especially on a glorious summer day


 left : Sam Armytage looking very summery
 

Here's young Jai Waetford interviewing celebs!

Mel B's Dramas!

One of the hot topics discussed at last week's Sony Music's Wharf4Ward kid's charity fundraiser was the absence of X-Factor judges Mel B, Ronan Keating and Guy Sebastian.
Given the charity lunch at the Finger Wharf is also an opportunity for the X-Factor finalists to strut their stuff and most of the X-Factor bigwigs, cast and crew were there including Natalie Bassingthwaighte, the trio's absence was noted.

There was some talk of a rift between the three judges over voting for their X-Factor wards and a family member of one of the finalists confirmed that recent reports of heated exchanges between the judges were correct and not a publicity stunt. The other talk was that Mel B and her husband Stephen Belafonte were still fuming over a weekend encounter with a paparazzi on Sydney Harbour.

All should be revealed when paparazzi Jamie Fawcett appears in Waverley Court today to contest an Apprehended Violence Order that Mel and husband have applied for. In 2004 Nicole Kidman successfully applied for an AVO against Fawcett after listening devices were found outside her Darling Point home.

As Big as One Direction

The Collective above are set to become as big as One Direction according to X-Factor judge Ronan Keating who knows a thing or two about successful boy bands.

Nathaniel Willemse

The lads were at Sony's Wharf4Ward the kid's cancer charity fundraiser where every restaurant along the strip on the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo donates their services and profits raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.It's also a day when the finalists from X-Factor get to strut their stuff for the audience

Luke Jacobz & Natalie

Every TV network and film company and most of Australia's top PR companies along with banks take tables.
Oddly missing from this year's lunch were judges Mel B, Ronan Keating and Guy Sebastian with all sorts of rumours about their absence. Judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and compere Luke Jacobz  put in appearance. Below is a video of Justice Crew who performed during the day.

Nikki Phillips

Shiane Hawke & Bella Ferraro

Hot Chelle Rae

      

A Christmas Tale

Alex Day

The Shuttle spent Christmas Day in the company of good friends at a lavish lunch, eating turkey and quaffing Bollinger ( as one should).

One guest at the table was a well known music industry lawyer who regaled us with tales of court room battles between artists and their record companies. He described his first job as a green barrister sent to London to handle a case against a hugely popular Australian band who were suing  EMI over the band's claim that the record giant had failed to promote their latest album which languished at the bottom of the charts.

In the course of his investigations for the record company, he was introduced in great secrecy to the 'hit-picker' employed by the company to assess whether the Aussie band's release would be a hit. The hit picker, an ageing musician who had seen better days had assessed, after several bottles of wine and many tokes on a hash pipe that the record was doomed to failure.

COLDPLAY

Overall the legal costs were in the millions of dollars. It would have been cheaper just to promote the album but anyone who has been unfortunate enough to deal with record companies  will know how an artist's fate can rest on the the late night worries of an executive fearful of making the wrong choice, picking a dud, losing his job and being stuck with a mortgage.

One young singer/songwriter Alex Day has just broken the mould and is currently at No 4 in the British music charts having sold 52,881 copies of his composition Forever Yours in the last week, pushing COLDPLAY into fifth place with just 50,000 sales.

Alex has no record deal. He promotes himself on YouTube.

Official Charts Company MD Martin Talbot has said that "Forever Yours is certainly one of the most successful self-released tracks we have ever seen, the Official Charts are based on sales, and sales alone, so Alex’s achievements this week are a genuine reflection of the passion of his army of fans, and of course, the power of social media."

Contrast Alex Day's success with the hullabaloo over shows like X-Factor with their millions of viewers around the world and rewards heaped upon the winners by the music giant Sony.

Local X-Factor winner Recce Mastin sold 70,000 copies of Good Night while Australia's Got Talent winner Jack Vidgen sold a similar amount. Both had the entire Sony network behind them plus a reputed million dollar budget and nightly TV adverts promoting them.

Alex Day did have help from a hit maker from way back-Jonathan King who describes here how he and Alex beavered away to beat the music industry at it's own game.

Forever Yours:

X Factor Update

Seeing 16 year old Reece Mastin, the X Factor finalist from Adelaide (via Scunthorpe in the UK) in the flesh, it's difficult to imagine what an amazing talent he is. His performance last night, singing while accompanied by a solo violinist again demonstrated that a major star is about to be launched upon the world:

Reece is pictured here in our exclusive snap from last Thursday's Sony's Wharf4Ward charity event with fellow contestants Johnny Ruffo and Declan Sykes, 2 other terrific performers. Here is his performance from Monday night :

Australia's Got Talent winner Jack Vidgen has been telling his Facebook friends :
"My album 'Yes i Am' is now available on the American Itunes for all u guys in the US. The reaction from Brazil which I was so surprised about has been massive as well so it will be released in Brazil very soon.
A couple more days till I leave to LA. Am getting excited. I'm gonna look like such a tourist when I go site seeing hahaha".
Jack will be appearing at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas . He's only 14 years old!

On The Waterfront

Cam McGlinchey & Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Dennis Lillee

Nikki Phillips

To one of our favourite spots-The Finger Wharf in Woolloomoolloo for Sony's Wharf4Ward.

Odds-on favourite to win X Factor-16 year old Reece Mastin at the Finger Wharf

Wharf4Ward is a music business charity raising funds to build cancer wards for kids across Australia and with a turn out of 800 at 10 top restaurants today nearly half a million dollars was added to the kitty.

Melissa Doyle &Sony's Denis Handlin

It was also a chance to check out the current X Factor finalists who all attended .Entertainment was provided by Sony Music artists, including platinum-selling Kate Miller-Heidke,  Guy Sebastian, 2009 Australian Idol's Stan Walker and 2010 Australia’s Got Talent winners Justice Crew.

Jo Casamento & Ronan Keating

Jodi Gordon &Braith Anasta

Amongst the guests- Ricky and Rianna Ponting, Geoff Huegill, Eamon Sullivan, Natalie Gruzlewski, Richard Wilkins, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Angela Bishop, Melissa Doyle, David Koch, Natarsha Belling, Samantha Armytage and Larry Emdur. Plus teen sailor  Jessica Watson and cricket great Dennis Lillee. 



Every one can also get involved with Sony's You Can campaign without donating a single dollar. There are over 20 million old mobile phones lying in bottom drawers across the country - the You Can campaign calls on all Australians to recycle these. Sony Foundation has partnered with an international recycling company to swap old mobile phones for cash.

X Factor's Mitchell Callaway &Andrew Wishart

Every wharf should have one-the Champagne Bar

Every person should have one-a new Bentley

Here's a message from Alice Cooper, Meatloaf and others:

Jack Vidgen Joins Eric Bana & A Murdoch

Getty

YOTS patron Eric B

Having picked up a prize of $250,000 with his spectacular win in the latest Australia's Got Talent, 14 year old Jack Vidgen has been revealing how he plans to spend some of the money.

A new Audi is on the cards- for Mum ( Jack has 2 more years to go before he gets his P plates) but Jack also wants to donate to charity with has heart set on Youth Of The Streets, YOTS the charity started and run by Catholic priest Father Chris Riley . YOTS provides services to assist homeless and disadvantaged, abused and neglected youth.

And Jack joins some high profile names- actor Eric Bana is the charities patron and publisher Matt Handbury, nephew of Rupert Murdoch has been a patron of YOTS for decades. Handbury donated a farm to YOTS in NSW to be used as a rural retreat for deprived city kids.

Vidgen is working on his first album having been signed by Sony and the song he wowed audiences with, Yes I Am is now available on iTunes here.

For more about Youth Of The Streets go to their website here.